


As We Fall

by BoonasaurusRex



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Almost like a prequel to the events of SNK, Canon Divergence, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-13 05:58:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3370409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoonasaurusRex/pseuds/BoonasaurusRex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 844. One hundred and eighty recruits stand to attention, each and every one of them vying for a life of comfort and safety within the Walls. None believe that the day will come when they will need to finally face the Titans. Among them is a boy with eyes of gold and a torch to be passed along. His family has always been strong, made up of some of the most influential members of the Military Police. He will meet nine others on his journey of various different backgrounds. Their very existence will change the world, especially when a terrible tragedy brings everything they once knew to shambles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Canon Divergent of the events of Shingeki no Kyojin. The original series itself is known for its dark, morally ambiguous style, and this story will follow in its footsteps. There will be chapters that deal with very dark subjects, and those will all be marked with a Trigger Warning in the Notes section. That being said, I had great fun writing out this story, and hope to be updating it every Sunday until it's finished. 
> 
> My amazing beta reader and co-writer, Airashii-tan, has made producing this so much easier for me, and I thank her greatly for the time and effort she's put in.
> 
> Hopefully you will enjoy this story, thank you very much for reading!
> 
> ~Rex

Feet hammer against the cobbled street as a young boy runs through the market square. Klorva was always a rather quiet place for a boy, unless you liked the squirrel-like chatter emanating from the elders as they went about their daily errands. No boy liked that. A boy wanted adventure, perilous journeys, a boy wanted to be a soldier. Especially this boy.

 

The boy vaguely heard chastising from the mouths of the elders and a merchant or two as he ran past, probably over being ‘disruptive’. It didn’t bother him much. He ran until he stood in the middle of the street that led to the gate, a wide road of thick grey cobble. Moss and some hardy weeds sprouted from the cracks, but otherwise, the cracks were filled with compacted dirt of a reddish tinge.

Coming to a halt beside a man much taller than he, Kalen gazed up at the wall. A looming thing, fifty metres of infallible stone bricks and mortar, smooth and cold when touched with ungloved fingers. The gate was a redder tone, emblazoned with the insignia of Wall Rose in all her beauty, a beautiful sculpting with red and green paints stained onto the crest behind the elegant stone head of their protector.

**“Kalen, you’re almost twelve now. Almost old enough to enlist.”**

The boy looked up at the tall man, whose black hair was tucked behind his ears, a serious expression on his face. The man was the image of a soldier, in the view of those romantic adventure stories that were told before bed. Handsome, tall, strong. He wore his cloak even when he wasn’t out on duty, a deep grey cloak with the symbol of his brigade on his back. The personal guard to his Majesty… What an honour it would be to serve beneath him.

**“Every son in the family for the past four generations has enlisted and graduated within the Top Ten, and has moved on to join the Brigade.”**

The boy gave a silent nod, his eyes locked on the Wall. A small breeze blew about his shaggy head of coal coloured hair, getting it in his face, though he didn’t seem affected. The Stationary Guard would be coming through here soon enough for Enlistment. Kalen already knew what he’d do, he’d heard this over and over again from his father. The Legacy was what he must focus on, it was what was important.

**  
“Make me proud, son.”**


	2. Initiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Commander moved on, not saying a word to any others until he reached the boy with the dark expression that’d been watching all this so far. He loomed over him, his hawklike eyes boring into the top of his shaggy mop of hair atop his head. The boy lifted his head, golden eyes staring directly into that of the Commander, unflinching.

**“Heidi Foth, sir! From Karanese District, sir!”**

Row by row, students were being interrogated. The Commander of the Survey Corps was initiating them, a great bald man with eyes that were reminiscent of a hawk. His forehead was deeply wrinkled, and from the looks of it, possessed no sense of pain, as he’d headbutted seventeen people now with enough force to crack skulls. They’d dropped, but he didn’t even flinch, he just kept moving.

**“And why are you here? To serve as fodder?”**

**“I’ve come to devote myself to humanity, sir!”**

**“A shitty thing to devote, if you ask me! Sixth line, face backwards!”**

The sixth line moved in unison, as the last line had. The blonde girl he’d been questioning showed no emotion other than nervousness, while the tall, blonde boy named Christian Bowman looked unhappy with the words spoken to the girl. The boy said nothing, however, staring forwards with pursed lips.

**“And what’s your name?”**

 

**“Xavier Roch from Erhmich District, sir!”**

The exchange between a boy with the ponytail and the Commander was merely background noise to the boy in the eighth line who was standing firm, a dark expression on his face. No nervousness, no quivering. Determination, passion, confidence all exuded off him. The answer of the ponytailed one apparently did not satisfy the Commander, as the boy was soon on his knees, clutching his head. Five more from the seventh line were questioned, Eva Victore and Felix Brodie two of them.

**“Albin Dubicki, sir! I’m from Yarckel District, sir!”**

A boy, pale as snow in both skin and hair stood at attention, violet eyes locked ahead as he saluted, not daring to make eye contact with the Commander. He was strange looking compared to the others. Boys like him were unheard of, not seeming to exist within the Walls. He looked like porcelain, fragile, though there was a firmness in his eyes that assured otherwise.

**“What does a freak like you want here?”**

**“I wish to assist in gathering knowledge about Titans, sir!”**

**“The best you’ll ever be is bait, you stick out like a fucking sore thumb!”**

The Commander moved on, not saying a word to any others until he reached the boy with the dark expression that’d been watching all this so far. He loomed over him, his hawklike eyes boring into the top of his shaggy mop of hair atop his head. The boy lifted his head, golden eyes staring directly into that of the Commander, unflinching.

**“Who the fuck are you to look at me?”**

**“Kalen Olander from the Klorva District, sir!”**

Kalen didn’t break eye contact with Shadis, pursing his lips in a firm line and refusing to show fear. He was meant for this, every man in his family had enlisted, it was his turn now. They could do this, why couldn’t he? The Commander’s eyes were drilling a hole in Kalen’s head, but he couldn’t look away, it’d be a sign of weakness.

**“Why are you here, Olander?”**

**“To carry on my family’s legacy, sir!”**

Apparently, this was the wrong answer. Shadis’s forehead smashed into his, pain exploding behind Kalen’s eyelids, temporarily blinding him. Kalen clenched his teeth and hissed in pain, head tilted down and eyes slammed shut. The ache didn’t cease, and he knew he’d have a bruise come tonight, but Kalen gritted his teeth, looking back up with narrowed eyes. The Commander huffed through his nose and moved on.

The initiation carried on, nearly every recruit questioned and a few headbutted. There were two hundred of them, and only thirty seemed to have answers that were what the Commander was looking for, but it was obvious enough that everyone here wanted to join with the Military Police, something that Shadis didn’t seem to like very much, seeing that the Survey Corps didn’t have great numbers, and it wasn’t getting any better.

  
A few kids dropped out of the initiation, unable to handle the verbal abuse, but Kalen knew from the stories that this was just the beginning. Some kids would run away, would drop out from the stress. It wouldn’t be abnormal for a few to die. They wouldn’t have been useful anyhow, if they couldn’t even stand training. Kalen was determined to make the top ten. He had to, for his family, for the legacy.


End file.
